Tristan Connor
Tristan Connor is a former New York City fireman who retired to Southern California, following the death of his wife and child on September 11. Early History Born in 1971 in Montclair, New Jersey, Tristan was named after his father who was killed in Vietnam five months before his birth. His mother, Beth, had met and fallen in love with his father while she was a nurse stationed at Da Nang Air Base. Beth fell pregnant a few months after their meeting but kept her condition a secret out of fear that its revelation would result in immediate discharge from military service. Despite Tristan's insistence that she return State side, Beth was determined to remain in Vietnam to be with him. Unfortunately, the matter was soon decided for her when he was killed in action at Pleiku Province. Only then did Beth reveal her pregnancy to the army and as anticipated was soon shipped back home. Tristan Jack Connor was born five months later at Mountside Hospital. Beth had moved in with her father, Jack, so she could provide her new baby with a stable environment while she studied to go to medical school. Jack, a New York City fireman, was unhappy at the prospect of his unmarried daughter being in the 'family way' but soon warmed to the idea of a grandson. Jack decided that the boy should be 'raised right' even if he was dubious about his daughter's choices. Despite the initial tension, the Connor household was a happy one and eventually Beth did finish medical school to become a doctor. However, by then the family arrangement had worked so well that Mike was reluctant to let Tristan leave his household. Resolving his differences with Beth, Connor and his mother remained and Beth was pleased to have a strong, male role model in her son's life. Emily On his first day at North East School, Tristan was pushed off the swings by a little girl in cut off jeans, pink sneakers and freckles across the nose. The next day, she put gum in his hair and after that, shoved him into the dirt. When she kissed him on the fourth day, he was convinced she really didn't like him. As it turned out, on Friday, she gave him half her Snickers bar and said she liked him. Since he liked Snickers bars too, he said the same. She introduced herself as Emily but he'd always call her Snickers. For the next ten years of school, Tristan's relationship with Emily evolved from playmates, to best friends, to girlfriend and finally high school sweethearts. They were a couple even before he knew what the word meant but Tristan couldn't imagine his life without her. The Visitor Occupation Tristan was twelve years old when the Visitors arrived on Earth. He and Emily watched the mothership with the same amount of fascination and awe as the rest of the planet. However, as the months progressed and the true nature of the alien invaders became apparent, Tristan realised that the Visitors had a more sinister agenda under their facade of peace. His mother, Beth, soon became a target in the crackdown of the scientific community. When she failed to return from her job at the hospital, Jack and Tristan's inquires led to the allegation that Beth had been arrested as a terrorist conspirator. His daughter's disappearance led to Jack taking active part in the Resistance in New Jersey. While Tristan was not allowed to participate, he was proud of his grandfather's determination to fight the enemy. Unfortunately when the Visitors were finally driven off Earth, they did taking thousand of souls with them; including Beth. Military Service and the Gulf War In the aftermath of the Occupation, life slowly returned to normal. Tristan returned to school even though Beth's loss haunted him. Emily did her best to help him through it and for the next four years, they were inseparable. Emily, the school editor while he was the quarterback of the football team. During their senior year, a visiting Army recruiter impressed Tristan enough to consider a life in the military. He'd grown up on stories about his father's service in Vietnam and after his grandfather's participation in the Resistance, wanted to follow in both their footsteps. Although Emily had wanted Tristan to enrol in college with her, she knew that he could not afford tuition fees. Thus while she was accepted into Columbia University, Tristan was found for Fort Benning. After Boot Camp, Tristan qualified for the Ranger Physical Fitness Test and was able to begin his training as Airborne Ranger. Eventually, he would become part of the 75th Ranger Regiment. The departure of the Visitors had not kept the world from resuming its previous rivalries with the outbreak of the Gulf War. Tristan served for the duration and participated in Desert Storm. Once he'd completed his tour of duty, he left the military and returned home to New Jersey. Home Returning home, Tristan and Emily were able to get married. Emily was a reporter at the Star Ledger and Tristan decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps by joining the Fire Department. They lived with Jack until Tristan graduated from the Fire Academy. While Jack had lived long enough to see Tristan become a fire fighter, he soon succumbed to lung cancer and passed away less than a year later. In the house that he had grown up with, Tristan and Emily started their new life together, despite the tragedies of the past. Emily soon fell pregnant and nine months later, their son Jack was born. September 11 Tristan was home alone that Tuesday on September 11. Emily and Jack were visiting her parents in Boston and due home the next day when Tristan was called out with most of the New York City Fire Department ot deal with the destruction caused by the hijackings. For the next 24 hours, he found himself in a situation to rival anything that he had experienced in the Gulf War. The destruction of the towers, the deaths of so many lives took its toll on him both mentally and physically. It was almost a day before he was able to return home and upon doing so, found a dozen messages from his in-laws, wanting to know if Jack and Emily had arrived home safely. It seems that in an effort to surprise him, Emily had caught an earlier flight with Jack and was coming home on American Airlines Flight 11, leaving from Boston Logan Airport. They would never come home to Tristan again. In the aftermath of their loss, Tristan resigned from the Fire Department and used the insurance money to buy himself a small ranch in Boulder Creek where he lives a reclusive life, trying to come to grips with his loss. Vital Statistics Name: Tristan Jack Connor Age: 38 Height: 1.81 cm Hair: Dark Blond Eyes: Hazel stinguishing Marks? Army Ranger Tattoo on the right shoulder Place of Birth: Montclaire, New Jersey Occupation: Ex-Fire fighter Family: *Wife - Emily (deceased) *Son - Jack (decased) *Father - Tristan (deceased) *Mother - Beth (missing) *Grandfather - Jack (deceased) Educatiion and Training *North East School *Montclaire High School *Army Ranger Schoo, Fort Benning *Middletown Township Fire Department Training Academy